Giving Tuesday spotlights urgent needs for Calgary charities

Volunteers across Calgary rolled up their sleeves and opened up their wallets as part of Giving Tuesday, looking to tackle growing need across several areas.

Calgary charities marked Giving Tuesday with fundraising campaigns, volunteer drives and community events, highlighting the growing need as families struggle with food insecurity, rising rents and everyday costs.

Giving Tuesday—founded in 2012 and launched in Canada the following year—encourages people to give back following the consumer rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

In Calgary, the movement has grown into one of the most important fundraising days of the year for non-profits dealing with surging demand.

Vibrant Communities Calgary and the United Way report nearly half of Calgarians are now within $200 of being unable to meet their monthly financial obligations, while food banks and school lunch programs say they’re supporting more people than ever.

Charities say the same economic pressures driving demand are also straining their budgets.

On Tuesday, several major Calgary organizations launched campaigns aimed at tackling everything from cancer care to domestic violence and child hunger.

Highlighting the value of every moment

One of the largest Giving Tuesday events took place at CF Chinook Centre, where the Alberta Cancer Foundation set up a one-day pop-up called “The Time Store.”

The storefront invites visitors to symbolically “buy time”—a message organizers say reflects what cancer patients and families tell them they want most.

“The Time Store really is a symbol of everything we hear from our cancer patients and their families, which is, ‘I wish I had more time to do the things that I love, to be with the people that I love,’” said Ryan Kelly, the foundation’s vice-president of communications and community partnerships.

“Every dollar supports the operations of our clinical trials unit, which is really providing that hope and the time for people who need it desperately.”

This year, donations will be matched up to $30,000 by Base Camp Resorts.

For many visiting the pop-up, the message of “time” was deeply personal.

Among them was 67-year-old Philip Croteau, a Calgary man who has been undergoing cancer treatment since 2023.

Croteau said he only learned how serious his condition was after a neighbour convinced him to go to the hospital.

“About six days later, I was told by the physicians I had cancer. … Gastrointestinal that also reached into the liver and the lung,” he said.

He credits medical teams and family members—particularly his siblings—with helping him through the particularly difficult early months.

He said he’s chosen to view every day as a gift.

“Initially, I was told maybe three months without treatment, and here I am coming up on two and a half years. So you can imagine that time is valuable,” he said.

“Time to me is about family and strengthening those bonds and setting new priorities.

“Doing it in a way that you don’t have regrets later.”

Volunteers assemble winter gear, hygiene kits

Volunteers at the Women in Need Society (WINS) worked with United Way Calgary and employees from BMO to pack winter gear and hygiene kits for women and families facing financial hardship or escaping domestic violence.

Karen Ramchuk, WINS president and CEO, said the event comes at a critical time.

“We’re building kits with items like toothpaste, deodorant and emergency food, but also warm clothes so people can stay warm this holiday season,” she said.

“Costs keep going up, wages are staying the same. … A single mom needs to make $37 an hour in order to pay her bills.

“Our gender pay gap is the worst across the country. Women in Calgary make only $0.67 for every dollar a man makes.”

Gender-based violence also remains high, and Ramchuk said the challenges for women fleeing dangerous situations are immense.

“Years ago, WINS was founded by a person that fled domestic violence, and what we’re really doing is helping people so they don’t have to return to those situations,” she said.

BMO regional vice-president Alicia Abballe said Giving Tuesday is an eye-opening experience for many who volunteer.

“It really gives us a sense of pride when we see our employees coming out, giving their time and being impactful to the communities in which they love and serve,” she said.

“It’s also important to be talking about the impact for our females in our communities who are just leaving relationships and maybe just really bad situations—we want them to know they’re not alone.”

WINS now provides basic needs support, employment training, community connections and job opportunities, with more than half of its employees coming through its community programs.

BB4CK launches $1M campaign

At the Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids (BB4CK) kitchen, volunteers prepared food while the organization launched its Giving Tuesday campaign, “Stories of BB4CK: Our Story is Made of Community.”

The non-profit hopes to raise $1 million before year’s end—enough to supply around 250,000 lunches for students.

The group currently feeds 8,000 children every school day across more than 290 schools.

Executive director Bethany Ross said demand has climbed sharply as families have struggled under rising food costs.

“Thirty-eight per cent of kids in Alberta are living in food-insecure households—an 80 per cent increase in five years,” she said.

“That means those kids are in classrooms. They play soccer or hockey with your child. They are your co-workers’ and your colleagues’ (children) and so talking about food and how we access it is a really important way of helping.”

BB4CK estimates the daily cost to feed one child is about $2.50, and volunteers prepare sandwiches, fruit, veggies and snacks from scratch each weekday.

Schools then distribute the lunches anonymously so children aren’t singled out.

A corporate sponsor is offering a $100,000 matching gift for Giving Tuesday, and local Olympians and Paralympians will volunteer later this week to support the effort.

High-priority health-care needs highlighted

The Calgary Health Foundation also used Giving Tuesday to highlight several high-priority fundraising areas across the city’s hospitals.

Under CEO Paul Rossmann, the foundation has supported the purchase of Calgary’s only cardiac PET scanner, which improves detection of coronary blockages in women—a critical advancement in an area where diagnosis has traditionally been challenging.

Funding for the scanner also encouraged investment from Alberta Health Services and the provincial government to build supporting infrastructure.

For Giving Tuesday and the holiday season, the foundation has also launched a campaign to raise $2.5 million to renovate one of six catheterization labs at Foothills Medical Centre.

These labs enable doctors to perform minimally invasive procedures, such as replacing heart valves through veins and arteries, which reduces recovery time and improves outcomes.

The foundation aims to raise $400,000 toward this renovation.

The campaign highlights the benefits of modernized cardiac care, while also showcasing the importance of community support for advancing health-care infrastructure.

The foundation is also working toward a $5-million goal to establish a women’s cardiovascular health clinic.

Donors warned to watch out for scams

Better Business Bureau Alberta and East Kootenay issued a reminder Tuesday for Calgarians to double-check where their money is going.

The BBB said holiday giving scams spike annually, often using emotional stories, fake social media accounts or copycat websites designed to mimic real charities.

The BBB offered advice:

• Verify the exact name of the charity. Many fraudulent organizations use names nearly identical to real ones;
• Check whether the group is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency;
• Avoid donating through unsolicited links sent through email or social media;
• Look for clear financial reporting and transparency about how donations are used; and
• Be cautious about high-pressure tactics or requests for unusual payment methods.

The BBB said safe giving can make the difference between helping people in need and accidentally supporting a scam, especially on a day when thousands of Canadians are opening their wallets.

“Charities are counting on donations to carry out the work they do,” BBB president Mary O’Sullivan-Andersen said.

“Take steps to ensure the charity you want to support receives the money to help carry out the mission they intend.”